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THE

REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST.

THE

REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST.

PART I.

THE NAME OF THE BOOK. BY WHOM THE REVELATION WAS
GIVEN. THE END OR OBJECT FOR WHICH IT WAS WRITTEN.
ITS FULFILMENT COMMENCING FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE
CHRISTIAN DISPENSATION. BY WHOM, AND UNTO WHOM IT
WAS SENT. COMMENDATION OF THE BOOK.

I. THE Revelation of JESUS CHRIST, which GOD gave unto Him, to Rev. i. 1-3. show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass;

and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John:

2 Who bare record of the word of GOD, and of the testimony

of JESUS CHRIST, and of all things that he saw.

3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein : for the time is at hand.

BEFORE entering upon the exposition of this book of the Revelation of JESUS CHRIST, concentrating as it does, all the light of Divine truth previously revealed in the Holy Scriptures, it would be very profitable to take a review of the progress and development of the purpose of God from its first opening to Adam in Paradise to its full consummation, or manifestation in the new heavens and new earth. But as this would take too large a space, we must content ourselves with reference only to the Scriptures in the course of our exposition.

B

10-12.

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The name or title of the book, is evidently intended to convey to us its distinctive character, as having a peculiarity belonging to no other book of Holy Writ. And its distinctiveness of character appears to be this-that as in all the other books of the Holy Scriptures, JESUS CHRIST is the Revealer, here He is not only the Revealer, but the Revealed One. If it were not so, there is no reason why this book should be entitled "The Revelation of JESUS CHRIST," more than any other book of Scripture: for in them all, JESUS CHRIST is the Revealer. It was the Spirit of CHRIST in the Prophets of old, which gave forth the light of God's truth; even of that salvation, now 1s Pet. i. ready to be revealed in the last time. In the Scriptures of the New Testament also, JESUS CHRIST is the S. John i. 4. Revealer. As it is written, "In Him was life, and the S. John i. 9. life was the light of men,' "the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." By the same inspiration, not only was the history of CHRIST written by the four Evangelists, but the truth in the Apostolic Epistles to the Churches was also revealed by JESUS CHRIST, inasmuch as He used them, by the HOLY GHOST, to declare and make known His truth. If this, therefore, were all that is signified in the name of the book we are now considering, there is nothing in it which distinguishes it from any other book of Scripture—no assignable reason why it should be called "The Revelation of JESUS CHRIST," more than any other book. Such an indefinite use of words, is however contrary to God's way of using them, and has no precedent in Scripture. On the contrary, Scripture names invariably express the nature or character of the thing named, as all the names of GOD, and of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, do testify. And even

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